Three Cups of Tea

I've just finished reading Three Cups of Tea; One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...One School At A Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Viking Hardcover 2006 / Penguin Paperback 2007). This is the remarkable story of a remarkable man, Greg Mortenson. Through a series of mishaps and a failure, he ended up in a little village in northern Pakistan. When he saw the children of the village holding school without a teacher, sitting on the ground and writing in the dirt with sticks, his life changed. He promised to return and build a school.

The book is the story of the fulfillment of that promise and the dedication of one man's life to providing education for children in Pakistan, especially the girls, and eventually for children in Afghanistan as well. It's a description of the way a single American won "hearts and minds," as we so often hear our government say it wants to do. It's a book that had me waking in the night to read just a little more.

Please find a copy of this book and read it--or better still, buy a copy here so that 7% of the purchase price will be donated to Mortenson's projects. Then tell other people about it, blog about it, and share your feelings about it. You can click on these links to find out more about Mortenson's Central Asia Institute and its Pennies for Peace school program that teaches American schoolchildren how they can have a positive impact on the world. There are lots more reviews here, just in case I haven't convinced you to read this book.